Semi-Polar Nitride-Based Light Emitting Structure and Method of Forming Same

ABSTRACT

A structure and method for producing same provides a solid-state light emitting device with suppressed lattice defects in epitaxially formed nitride layers over a non-c-plane oriented (e.g., semi-polar) template or substrate. A dielectric layer with “window” openings or trenches provides significant suppression of all diagonally running defects during growth. Posts of appropriate height and spacing may further provide suppression of vertically running defects. A layer including gallium nitride is formed over the dielectric layer, and polished to provide a planar growth surface with desired roughness. A tri-layer indium gallium nitride active region is employed. For laser diode embodiments, a relatively thick aluminum gallium nitride cladding layer is provided over the gallium nitride layer.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure is related to the structure of a light emittingdevice such as a light emitting diode or laser diode, and morespecifically to such devices formed over group III-nitride substratessuch as semi-polar GaN(1122) and non-polar GaN(1010) substrates. Asemi-polar surface orientation of a wurtzite material may be defined asan orientation (h, k, −(h+k), l) with h or k not equal to zero and l notequal to zero.

Producing light emitting structures such as light emitting diodes (LEDs)and semiconductor lasers on c-axis substrates is well known. Al₂O₃(0001)(c-plane sapphire) is a common c-plane substrate used today. Due to thedifferences in lattice constants between the sapphire and material grownthereover, such as gallium nitride (GaN), vertical defects such asdislocations and stacking faults arise, which result in crystallinedefects in the material grown over the substrate. Lateral overgrowth isone technique used to reduce the vertical dislocation defects.

While c-plane oriented substrates have been the most widely usedsubstrates to date, other orientations such as semi-polar and m-planeorientations are becoming increasingly important. For example, bulksemi-polar GaN substrates are highly desired for indium-based lightemitters such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs), inorder to reduce internal electric fields that impair the efficiency ofthe light emission process on conventional c-axis oriented nitridedevices. However, such bulk substrates are not yet widely available andare limited to small sizes. As an alternative to bulk semi-polar GaNsubstrates, semi-polar GaN templates have been grown on large areasapphire substrates by conventional means such as Hydride Vapor PhaseEpitaxy (HVPE). However, the defect density in such template layers ison the order of 10¹⁰ cm⁻², unless defect reduction techniques areapplied.

While lateral overgrowth is an effective technique for c-plane orientedsubstrates, it is not optimized for materials in which the c-axis istilted with respect to the surface normal, such as any semi-polaroriented GaN, in which a significant portion of defects extend acrossthe GaN layer at an angle corresponding to the tilt of the basal planeGaN(0001). One difficulty observed is that since the lattice defects ina semi-polar template layer (or equivalently, a semi-polar substrate)run diagonally, e.g., at a given angle between 0 and 90 degrees relativeto the plane of the growth surface, the effectiveness of a mask atlimiting extension (or propagation) of the defects into the growth layeris reduced. To compound this problem, certain substrate orientationspresent defects in multiple different planes (e.g., perpendicular to thegrowth surface as well as angled relative to that plane). One techniqueused to address problems presented when using substrates with other thanc-axis orientation is epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELOG), and onevariation on the ELOG process, referred to herein as windowed ELOG, isdisclosed and discussed in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/562,675, which is incorporated by reference herein and to whichpriority is hereby claimed. According to the windowed ELOG technique, apatterned mask with “window” openings is formed over the semi-polarlayer. The windows have a vertical height at least equal to the productof the window width times the cotangent of the angle between the surfacenormal and the c-axis direction for the semi-polar layer. These windowseffectively provide significant suppression of all diagonally runningdefects during growth of layers over the mask.

However, useful light emitting devices formed over relatively largesemi-polar substrates has yet to be demonstrated. For example, typicallight emitting structures such as laser diodes utilize a gallium nitride(GaN) template layer with a Al_(x)Ga_(1-x)N/GaN short-periodsuper-lattice (SPSL) lower (and upper) cladding layer. Such claddinglayers are necessary to confine the optical wave to a region of highoptical amplification and low loss due to absorption and scattering. TheSPSL addresses the problem of strain-induced cracking that arises withthick AlGaN layers (of equal average composition).

However, the limited thickness, and limited Al-content in particular, ofthe lower cladding layer may lead to significant leakage of the opticalmode into the underlying layer structure. In addition, when formed overthe window ELOG base, a corrugated interface is produced as a result ofthe masking procedure and subsequent overgrowth. Such a corrugatedinterface results in highly undesired scattering losses. Perhaps mostfundamentally, functional devices formed over the window ELOG base havenot yet been demonstrated.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to a method andstructure for forming useful light emitting devices which incorporategenerally available non-c-plane oriented layers, such as a semi-polaroriented template layer or substrate. The present disclosure providesprocess for forming both laser diodes (LDs) and light emitting diodes(LEDs), capable of emitting in a range of wavelengths, such as in theblue portion of the visible spectrum.

According to one aspect of the disclosure relating to both LDs and LEDs,a window ELOG process forms a base structure. A core region, comprisingn-type and p-type layers, an active region, and an electron-blockinglayer (EBL), is formed thereover. The active region comprises a layeredstructure of indium-gallium-nitride, with layers of 0-5% indiumsurrounding a layer of 10-30% indium. That is, the region comprises alayer stack of In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N/In_(y)Ga_(1-y)N/In_(z)Ga_(1-z)N, where0≦x≦0.5, 0.1≦y≦0.5, and 0≦z≦0.5.

According to one aspect of the disclosure relating to LDs, in additionto the above, a relatively thick AlGaN cladding layer is formed over thegrowth surface presented by the window ELOG base structure. In addition,an upper cladding, such as a known SPSL layer and upper p-type contactlayer are formed over the upper layer of the core region.

According to still another aspect of the disclosure relating to both LDsand LEDs, the growth surface presented by the window ELOG layer ispolished to a desired surface roughness.

According to still another aspect of the disclosure relating to both LDsand LEDs, voids are formed within the ELOG base structure during lateralovergrowth which are used for controlled substrate lift-off afterwardsby chemical means.

The above is a summary of a number of the unique aspects, features, andadvantages of the present disclosure. However, this summary is notexhaustive. Thus, these and other aspects, features, and advantages ofthe present disclosure will become more apparent from the followingdetailed description and the appended drawings, when considered in lightof the claims provided herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings appended hereto like reference numerals denote likeelements between the various drawings. While illustrative, the drawingsare not drawn to scale. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a structure with lattice defectsuppressing islands and inclined posts formed thereon according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of FIG. 1, withadditional layers formed thereon to thereby form a solid-state laserdiode according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is cross-sectional view of an active region of a type employed insolid state light emitting devices according to various embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a structure with lattice defectsuppressing islands, but without inclined posts, according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of FIG. 4, withadditional layers formed thereon to thereby form a solid-state laserdiode according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of FIG. 1, withadditional layers formed thereon to thereby form a solid-statelight-emitting diode according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a plot of wavelength versus spot intensity for a device of thetype shown in and described with regard to FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a cross section view of a portion of a light emittingstructure illustrating orientation of a template such that its primarycrystallographic plane is inclined at an angle α which is out of normalto a growth plane of said template.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

We initially point out that descriptions of well known startingmaterials, processing techniques, components, equipment and otherwell-known details are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure thedetails of the present invention. Thus, where details are otherwise wellknown, we leave it to the application of the present invention tosuggest or dictate choices relating to those details.

With reference to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a solid-state,edge-emitting laser diode (LD) 10 according to the present disclosure isshown and described as follows. Structure 10 comprises a template layer12, which may be a 2 micro-meter (μm) thick or thicker GaN layer (or,alternatively, another nitride such as AlGaN, InGaN, combinationsthereof, etc.) of semi-polar orientation (e.g., other than (0001) or(1010) oriented surface) grown by Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy (HVPE),metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), or any other suitablemethod, on Al₂O₃ (sapphire) of suitable orientation (for example,m-plane sapphire) or any other suitable substrate (not shown) ofsuitable orientation (for example, Si, SiC, AlN, ZnO etc.)

A dielectric layer 14, for example SiO₂ on the order of 2 μm thick, isdeposited on template layer 12. A photoresist layer 16 is deposited, andis shown in dashed outline to represent that it is subsequently removedfrom the final structure. Photoresist layer 16 is patterned byconventional photolithography to form a regular pattern of openings, forexample 1-μm wide stripes. The pitch of these stripes may be in a rangeof 10 to 20 μm, although other spacings are contemplated and depend onthe application of the teachings of the present disclosure. A largerpitch (i.e., stripe separation) is beneficial for delaying coalescence,as discussed further below. The mask defines sidewalls predominantly indirection of the c-axis of the GaN unit cell. The vector that is normalto the sidewall surface forms an angle with the c-axis of the GaN thatis determined by the orientation of growth surface 24.

For purposes of illustration, this embodiment 10 is described employingan “island” embodiment described in the aforementioned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/562,675, although a “trench” embodiment alsodescribed therein is equally useful. The SiO₂ layer 14 ismask-patterned, for example by reactive ion etching (RIE), therebydefining islands 18 and windows 20. Islands 18 define sidewalls 22. Thesidewall surface planes intersect the growth surface planes at an anglevery close to 90 degrees.

Selective surface cleaning is performed to remove the photoresist layer16 while not attacking the SiO₂ layer 14. The structure is thenpositioned in a MOCVD growth chamber. In one embodiment, the growthchamber is a vertical quartz tube (not shown) with a rotating two-inchSiC-coated graphite susceptor. The susceptor body is heated by inductiveheating, which is controlled via pyrometric temperature reading from thebackside of the susceptor. Following transfer to the growth chamber, thesubstrate is heated to 1050° C. in an ammonia atmosphere and a layergrowth (GaN, AlGaN) starts at a rate of 2 μm/h (for growth on a planarsubstrate) and a reactor pressure of 200 Torr using input flow rates of6.7 μmol/min trimethylgallium, 4 slpm ammonia, and 6 slpm hydrogen.Growth proceeds in the GaN[1123] direction at a rate of about 1 μm/h,and greater than 5 μm/h in the GaN[11.0] direction. Thereby, predominantgrowth occurs in the GaN[11.0] direction, yielding posts 26 with sidefacets 28 inclined by, for example, 58 degrees with respect to thesurface. The GaN layer growth may proceed until full coalescence of alayer 30 (coalescence layer) is achieved. That is, growth of posts 26proceeds both horizontally and vertically (laterally) until thestructure forms a connected body above posts 26.

The material grown over window ELOG regions will typically exhibit voids38 beneath coalescence layer 30 (i.e., beneath the coalescence region).Such voids can be beneficial for LED structures as they may act as alight outcoupling enhancement structure, similar to a structuremechanically imprinted into the backside of some LED chips duringprocessing of planar LED structures. Furthermore, these voids arethought to promote substrate removal by chemical agents (such potassiumhydroxide KOH) as they provide channels for the chemicals and the amountof material to be removed is significantly reduced.

The important point of this process is that both vertically propagatingdislocation defects 32 as well as inclined dislocation defects 34 aresuppressed by the geometry and materials choice for layer 14 andcoalescence layer 30. More specifically, vertically propagatingdislocation defects 32 are suppressed by their incidence upon sidewalls28 of columns 26, while inclined dislocation defects 34 are suppressedby their incidence upon sidewalls 22 of windows 20. It will beappreciated that due to this process, columns 26 must be tall enough tointersect with (and hence suppress) vertically propagating dislocations32. This height, h_(c), can be approximated as:

h _(c) =w/tan β

where w is the width of a column, which is approximately the width of awindow 20, and β is the angle that side facets 28 form with respect tothe vertical direction (which is normal to surface 24).

Once full coalescence of layer 30 is achieved, growth stops and thestructure may be removed from the growth chamber. The upper surface 36of coalescence layer 30 will be rough, and will exhibit relative highand low points. Indeed, due to the geometry, growth over columns 26,there may be depressions or excursions in surface 36, which requirepolishing in order to render upper surface 36 planar. As much as1000-3000 nm of material may be required to be removed in order torender upper surface 36 planar. A planar growth surface is important inorder that subsequently grown layers have sharp and evenly distributedinterfaces. Thus, as a next step in the process, upper surface 36 ofcoalescence layer 30 is polished, by methods known in the art, into adesired plane and to have a desired roughness, for example substantiallyless than 1 nm rms.

With reference next to FIG. 2, an aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) lowercladding layer 42 is formed over surface 36, for example within theMOCVD chamber. Layer 42 is a relatively thick layer, for example 0.9-2.0μm or thicker. Layer 42 exhibits a relaxed lattice structure due toformation of an array of misfit dislocations (MD) over coalescence layer30, allowing that layer to be grown to such thicknesses without crackingor related structural damage. Layer 42 provides improved modeconfinement as compared, for example, to known SPSL lower claddingstructures, particularly for longer wavelength devices.

A device core 44 is next formed over layer 42. Device core 44 comprisesan undoped or lightly n-doped In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N (0≦x<0.1 and n≦5×10¹⁷cm⁻³) lower waveguide layer 46, active region 48, a p-dopedAl_(x)Ga_(1-x)N (0≦x≦0.1 and p≈2×10¹⁸ cm⁻³) electron blocking layer(EBL) 50, and p-doped GaN (typically p≦2×10¹⁸ cm⁻³) upper waveguidelayer 52. Lower waveguide layer 46 and upper waveguide layer 52 are eachabout 100-200 nm thick. The electron blocking layer 50 typically has anAl-content of 15-25%, and a thickness of about 10-30 nm.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure shown in FIG. 3,active region 48 comprises: a lower active layer 58 comprising indiumgallium nitride in the proportion of In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N, where 0≦x≦0.05; amiddle active layer 60 comprising indium gallium nitride in theproportion of In_(y)Ga_(1-y)N, where 0.1≦y≦0.3; and an upper activelayer 62 comprising indium gallium nitride in the proportion ofIn_(z)Ga_(1-z)N, where 0≦z≦0.05. Importantly, in this embodiment atleast middle active layer 60 does not exhibit a relaxed latticestructure (no MD) so that the current required for stimulated emissionof photons therein is minimized. While such a structure provides asingle quantum well active region, multiple quantum active regions mayalso be employed, for example by repeating active region 48 two or moretimes, or by providing additional different quantum well structures (notshown) over or under region 48, as will be appreciated by one skilled inthe art.

Returning to FIG. 2, formed over device core 44 is upper cladding region54, which in one embodiment comprises a p-type 2.5 nmAl_(0.1-0.2)Ga_(0.9-0.8)N/2.5 nm GaN short-period super-lattice (SPSL).While upper cladding region 54 may comprise an SPSL, other structuresand arrangements can alternatively be utilized. Finally, contact layer56, for example p-type GaN, is formed over upper cladding region 54.

FIG. 7 is a plot of wavelength versus spot intensity for a device of thetype described above. In this case, the device was a dual quantum welldevice, with two substantially similar active regions 48 one atop theother. As can be seen, the device exhibited peak optical intensity atapproximately 424 nm, in the blue portion of the visible spectrum. Otherwavelengths may be provided through different choices of materials forthe quantum well and other various layers of the device.

According to one variation of the above-described embodiment, in placeof posts formed to address multiple-plane dislocation defects, whendislocation defects are present in a single plane other than parallel tothe normal of the growth surface, GaN growth within channels may beemployed. Such a structure 70 is illustrated and described withreference to FIGS. 4 and 5. A template 72, which may be a 1 micron thickor thicker nitride layer (e.g., GaN) of semi-polar orientation (e.g.,other than (0001) or (1010) oriented surface) grown by MOCVD (or anysuitable method) on sapphire or any other suitable substrate (notshown). In the case of wurtzitic nitride substrates, template 72 has agrowth plane corresponding to a crystallographic plane forming an angleα other than 0 or 90 degrees to its primary crystallographic plane. Forother crystallographic substrate materials, template 72 is oriented suchthat its primary crystallographic plane is at an angle α that is out ofnormal to said growth plane. FIG. 8 illustrates angle α relative to theplanes of the sidewalls of windows 20 and growth surface 24.

Returning to FIG. 4, a dielectric layer 74, for example SiO₂approximately 2 microns thick, is deposited on template 72. Dielectriclayer 74 is next patterned, for example by masking and etching, tothereby define islands 76 and windows 78. Islands 76 define sidewalls 80predominantly in the direction perpendicular to a growth surface 82 ofthe wurtzite unit cell.

The substrate is then placed into a MOCVD growth chamber and heated to1050° C. in an ammonia atmosphere, and a GaN layer is formed, firstwithin windows 78, then when windows 78 are filled both vertically andlaterally over the upper surface of islands 76. Growth continues untilcoalescence is achieved, thereby forming layer 84.

At this point, the upper surface 86 of layer 84 may not be smooth.Indeed, due to the geometry, growth over windows 78, portions of layer84 may be thicker thereover, which require polishing in order to renderupper surface 86 planar. As much as 1000-3000 nm of material may berequired to be removed in order to render upper surface 86 planar. Thus,as a next step in the process, upper surface 86 of layer 84 is polishedinto a desired plane p.

With reference next to FIG. 5, as previously described, an aluminumgallium nitride (AlGaN) lower cladding layer 88 is formed over surface86. Layer 88 is a relatively thick layer, for example 0.9-2.0 μm orthicker, exhibiting a relaxed lattice structure due to misfitdislocations (MD) over GaN layer 84, allowing that layer to be grown tosuch thicknesses without cracking or related structural damage.

A device core 90 is next formed over layer 88. Device core 90 comprisesn-GaN lower waveguide layer 92, active region 94, electron blockinglayer (EBL) 96, and upper p-GaN upper waveguide layer 98. Active region94 comprises: indium gallium nitride in the proportion ofIn_(x)Ga_(1-x)N/indium gallium nitride in the proportion ofIn_(y)Ga_(1-y)N/indium gallium nitride in the proportion ofIn_(z)Ga_(1-z)N, where 0≦x≦0.05, 0.1≦y≦0.3, and 0≦z≦0.05. Again, whilesuch a structure provides a single quantum well active region, multiplequantum active regions may also be employed. Formed over device core 90is upper cladding region 100, which in one embodiment comprises a p-typeshort-period super-lattice (SPSL), similar to that described above.Finally, contact layer 102, for example p-type GaN, is formed over uppercladding region 100.

The present disclosure is equally applicable to a solid-statepn-junction light emitting diode (LED), as shown in and described withreference to FIG. 6. The process producing an LED proceeds as shown anddescribed above with regard to FIG. 1. That is, a coalesced series ofposts are formed, and the coalesced surface above the posts is polishedto a desired roughness and presented as a growth surface. Yet anotheralternative is to employ the island and window structure shown anddescribed above with regard to FIG. 4. We describe the process ofproducing an LED assuming use of the posts and coalesced surface of FIG.1, but such is not the sole starting point, and thus should not beinterpreted as limiting the scope of the disclosure or claims relatingto forming an LED.

Accordingly, active region 112 is formed over the polished upper surface36 of coalescence layer 30. Active region 112 comprises: a lower activelayer 114 comprising indium gallium nitride in the proportion ofIn_(x)Ga_(1-x)N; a middle active layer 116 comprising indium galliumnitride in the proportion of In_(y)Ga_(1-y)N; and an upper active layer118 comprising indium gallium nitride in the proportion ofIn_(z)Ga_(1-z)N; where 0≦x≦0.05, 0.1≦y≦0.3, and 0≦z≦0.05. Again, whilesuch a structure provides a single quantum well active region, multiplequantum active regions may also be employed. EBL layer 120 is formedover active region 112. Finally, contact layer 122, for example p-typeGaN, is formed over EBL layer 120.

During subsequent steps of processing into final LED and LD devices,mesas (not shown) may be formed on the epitaxial surface 36 withsidewalls extending below the ELOG base structure thereby exposing voids38 that are formed during the lateral overgrowth.

In some device geometries, it is desirable to flip-chip the device withits p-metallization down, bonded onto a carrier heat sink such as acopper block using known soldering techniques. The substrate andtemplate structure may be removed either by using an excimer laser todecompose the GaN/sapphire interface (laser lift-off) or by supplyingsuitable chemical agents such as potassium hydroxide (KOH) to the ELOGbase region where parts or all of the posts are dissolved and therebythe connection to the substrate is broken.

The physics of modern electrical devices and the methods of theirproduction are not absolutes, but rather statistical efforts to producea desired device and/or result. Even with the utmost of attention beingpaid to repeatability of processes, the cleanliness of manufacturingfacilities, the purity of starting and processing materials, and soforth, variations and imperfections result. Accordingly, no limitationin the description of the present disclosure or its claims can or shouldbe read as absolute. The limitations of the claims are intended todefine the boundaries of the present disclosure, up to and includingthose limitations. To further highlight this, the term “substantially”may occasionally be used herein in association with a claim limitation(although consideration for variations and imperfections is notrestricted to only those limitations used with that term). While asdifficult to precisely define as the limitations of the presentdisclosure themselves, we intend that this term be interpreted as “to alarge extent”, “as nearly as practicable”, “within technicallimitations”, and the like.

Furthermore, while a plurality of preferred exemplary embodiments havebeen presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should beunderstood that a vast number of variations exist, and these preferredexemplary embodiments are merely representative examples, and are notintended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of thedisclosure in any way. Various of the above-disclosed and other featuresand functions, or alternative thereof, may be desirably combined intomany other different systems or applications. Various presentlyunforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications variations, orimprovements therein or thereon may be subsequently made by thoseskilled in the art, which are also intended to be encompassed by theclaims, below.

Therefore, the foregoing description provides those of ordinary skill inthe art with a convenient guide for implementation of the disclosure,and contemplates that various changes in the functions and arrangementsof the described embodiments may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the disclosure defined by the claims thereto.

1. A method of producing a solid-state light emitting device comprising:orienting a template to have a growth surface defining a growth plane,said template oriented such that its primary crystallographic plane isoriented at an angle α which is out of normal to said growth plane;forming structural sidewalls over at least a portion of said growthsurface and extending substantially normal to said growth plane anddefining a plurality of window openings, said window openings having awidth, w, and a height, h; forming a coalescence layer comprisinggallium nitride over said template such that said window openings haveformed therein a portion of said coalescence layer such thatcrystallographic defects which originate at a portion of said growthsurface and which lie in planes that are substantially parallel to saidcrystallographic plane of said template substantially terminate at saidsidewalls and thereby substantially do not extend beyond the height h ofsaid window openings, said coalescence layer formed to have an upperregion which physically connects said portions of said coalescence layerwithin said window openings, said upper region of said coalescence layerhaving an upper surface; polishing said upper surface of saidcoalescence layer such that said upper surface is primarily in a singleplane and has a desired surface roughness; forming a pn-junction lightemitting device with an active region over said coalescence layer, saidactive region comprising: a lower active layer of indium gallium nitridein the proportion of In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N, where 0≦x≦0.05; a middle activelayer of indium gallium nitride in the proportion of In_(y)Ga_(1-y)N,where 0.1≦y≦0.5; and, an upper active layer of indium gallium nitride inthe proportion of In_(z)Ga_(1-z)N, where 0≦z≦0.05; forming a contactlayer over said active region.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein saidpolishing is performed such that said upper surface of said coalescencelayer has a surface roughness of substantially less than 1 nm rms. 3.The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming a dielectric layerover and in contact with said growth surface; and wherein said height,h, is the distance between an upper surface of said dielectric layer andsaid growth surface, and is at least equal to the product of the width,w, and the cotangent of the angle α.
 4. The method of claim 1, furtherwherein: said coalescence layer forms post structures over said windowopenings, said post structures formed to: have a height h over saidgrowth surface; have sidewall facets; and be inclined at an angle, β,relative to said growth plane and out of normal to said growth plane;whereby, crystallographic defects which originate at a portion of saidgrowth surface and which extend during growth in a direction that issubstantially normal to said growth surface substantially terminate atsaid facets and thereby substantially do not extend beyond the height hof said post structures.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:forming over said coalescence layer post structures and below saidactive region an aluminum gallium nitride layer such that said aluminumgallium nitride layer exhibits a relaxed lattice structure due to misfitdislocations over said coalescence layer post structures and such thatsaid aluminum gallium nitride layer forms a continuous surface.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: forming over said coalescencelayer and below said active region an aluminum gallium nitride layersuch that said aluminum gallium nitride layer exhibits a relaxed latticestructure due to misfit dislocations over said coalescence layer andsuch that said aluminum gallium nitride layer forms a continuoussurface.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said aluminum gallium nitridelayer is formed to be in the range of 0.9-2.0 micrometers in thickness.8. The method of claim 6, further comprising forming said aluminumgallium nitride cladding layer as a superlattice structure comprising atleast one layer pair of aluminum gallium nitride layers.
 9. The methodof claim 6, further comprising: forming an n-type lower gallium nitridewaveguide layer in between and in physical contact with each of saidaluminum gallium nitride-comprising layer and said active region; anelectron blocking layer over said active region; forming a p-type uppergallium nitride waveguide layer over and in physical contact with saidelectron blocking layer; forming a p-type short-period super-latticecladding structure over and in physical contact with said upper galliumnitride waveguide layer; and forming a gallium nitride contact layerover and in physical contact with said short-period super-latticecladding structure.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein said coalescencelayer is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of:gallium nitride, aluminum gallium nitride, and indium gallium nitride.11. The method of claim 1, wherein said template is formed on asubstrate, further comprising the step of removing said substrate bychemical agents applied to said coalescence layer.
 12. A solid-statelight emitting structure, comprising: a template structure having agrowth surface defining a growth plane, said template oriented such thatits primary crystallographic plane is oriented at an angle α that is outof normal to said growth plane; a dielectric layer over and in physicalcontact with said template structure, said dielectric layer having aplurality of windows formed there, each said window having a structuralsidewall over at least a portion of said growth surface and extendingsubstantially normal to said growth plane and defining a plurality ofwindow openings, said window openings having a width, w, and a height,h; a coalescence layer over and in physical contact with said dielectriclayer, said coalescence layer including portions extending within saidwindow openings, such that crystallographic defects which originate at aportion of said growth surface and which lie in planes that aresubstantially parallel to said crystallographic plane of said templatesubstantially terminate at said sidewalls and thereby substantially donot extend beyond the height h of said window openings, said coalescencelayer having a substantially planar, continuous, polished upper surface;an active region over said coalescence layer, said active regioncomprising: a lower active layer of indium gallium nitride in theproportion of In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N, where 0≦x≦0.05; a middle active layer ofindium gallium nitride in the proportion of In_(y)Ga_(1-y)N, where0.1≦y≦0.5; and, an upper active layer of indium gallium nitride in theproportion of In_(z)Ga_(1-z)N, where 0≦z≦0.05; and a contact layer oversaid active region.
 13. The solid-state light emitting structure ofclaim 12, wherein said coalescence layer comprises post structures oversaid window openings, said post structures: have a height h over saidgrowth surface; have sidewall facets; and are inclined at an angle, β,relative to said growth plane and out of normal to said growth plane;whereby, crystallographic defects which originate at a portion of saidgrowth surface and have an orientation substantially normal to saidcrystallographic plane substantially terminate at said facets andthereby substantially do not extend beyond the height h of said poststructures.
 14. The solid-state light emitting structure of claim 12,further comprising: an n-type aluminum gallium nitride layer disposedover and in physical contact with said upper surface of said coalescencelayer and disposed below said active region, said aluminum galliumnitride layer exhibiting a relaxed lattice structure due to misfitdislocations over said coalescence layer.
 15. The solid-state lightemitting structure of claim 14, wherein said aluminum gallium nitridelayer has a thickness in the range of 0.9-2.0 micrometers.
 16. Thesolid-state light emitting structure of claim 14, wherein said aluminumgallium nitride cladding layer comprises a superlattice structurecomprising at least one layer pair of aluminum gallium nitride layers.17. The solid-state light emitting structure of claim 12, wherein saidcoalescence layer is formed of a material selected from the groupconsisting of: gallium nitride, aluminum gallium nitride, and indiumgallium nitride.
 18. The solid-state light emitting structure of claim14, further comprising: an n-type lower gallium nitride waveguide layerdisposed in between and in physical contact with each of said aluminumgallium nitride layer and said active region; an electron blocking layerover and in physical contact with said active region; a p-type uppergallium nitride waveguide layer disposed over and in physical contactwith said electron blocking layer; a p-type short-period super-latticecladding structure disposed over and in physical contact with saidp-type upper gallium nitride waveguide layer; and a gallium nitridecontact layer disposed over and in physical contact with said p-typeshort-period super-lattice cladding structure.